A GIRL from St John’s Primary School in Ayr has won a competition to design a rubber stamp for a revived ancient pilgrimage path which tracks through Ayrshire. 

Adriana Lysiak, Adriana, aged 12 and known as Ada, entered the competition as part of an assignment set for her school’s specialist art class, which includes children from P5, P6 and P7. 

Mrs Louise Gray, head teacher of St. John’s Primary School said: “The children in the Art Elective Class were given the opportunity to take part in a real design challenge. 

“They visited St. John’s Tower and were given guided tours by members of the Friends of St. John’s Tower (FrOST). The children learnt about the history of the tower and its significance for the Whithorn Way. It has been a fun and educational experience for them all.”

The Whithorn Way routes over 140 miles from Glasgow Cathedral to St. Ninian’s Cave at Whithorn and passes many historic and religious sites along the way.

Whithorn Way walkers will carry passbooks in which they can collect stamps to record the places they visit along the route. One site is Ayr’s St. John’s Tower, which is the surviving bell tower from Ayr’s original 12th century parish church.

The Whithorn Trust provided a brief about the requirements for designing a rubber stamp, and the children spent two mornings working on their designs, under the supervision of teachers Jaimie Winning and Sarah Fleming. 

The winning design was chosen by FrOST team members, including Yolanda McCall and Judith Paterson who provided the guided tour at the tower.

“The children came up with some wonderful ideas for the design of the rubber stamp,” said Yolanda. “Most pictures featured St. John’s Tower, but some offered the view of Arran and the coast. 

“Greenan Castle and the Wallace Tower also featured among the entries, and one pupil chose to draw a scallop shell – a traditional design for pilgrimage stamps, as the lines on the shell represent walking paths. Ada’s design of St. John’s Tower was confident, clear and bold. It will serve as a great reminder to walkers of their visit to Ayr.”

The winning design will now be sent to a graphic designer for conversion into rubber stamps that will be held at Renaldo’s and Tourist Information in Ayr. Full details of the Whithorn Way and the location of rubber stamps will be included in a book being written by Julia Muir-Watt of the Whithorn Trust, due for publication in 2018.

New signage coming soon to St. John’s Tower will provide details of FrOST’s website, www.stjohnstower.btck.co.uk where visitors can view a virtual tour of the inside of the tower and read about its history.